Report of the Kew Committee. 



41 



British Association (the greater part of which has been already ex- 

 pended), fees for verification of instruments, and payments for new 

 instruments for foreign observatories, leaving a balance in hand of 

 .£85 55. 6d. on the 31st of October. 



The state of the Magnetic Reductions, as exhibited in the Report of 

 the British Association for 1871, remains unaltered, with the exception 

 of the Tabulations of Declination, which have been extended to the end 

 of the year 1871. The discussion of the results has been undertaken 

 by the Chairman of the Committee, Sir E. Sabine, who has made arrange- 

 ments for the constant attendance at Kew since November 1871 of two 

 sergeants of the Royal Artillery who were formerly located in his office at 

 Woolwich. Accommodation has been provided for them at Kew by 

 partitioning off a portion of the Transit Room. 



Meteorological Work. — The several self-recording instruments, register- 

 ing respectively the Pressure, Temperature, Vapour-tension, Rainfall, and 

 Wind, have been maintained in constant action under the superintendence 

 of Mr. T. W. Baker, second Assistant, aided by Mr. Foster ; and the 

 daily standard eye observations for control of the photographic records 

 have been made regularly. 



The instrumental traces with hourly tabulated values are sent monthly 

 to the Meteorological Office as in former years. The Barograms and Ther- 

 mograms are printed off in duplicate, and one' copy is preserved at Kew. 

 As regards the Anemograms and Rain-records, the copy has been ob- 

 tained by the method of tracing. 



In addition to the regular work of Kew as a Magnetical and Meteoro- 

 logical Observatory, the duty of examining and checking the work of all 

 the seven Self-recording Observatories in connexion with the Meteoro- 

 logical Office has been carried on in accordance with the method described 

 hi the Report of the British Association for 1869. This portion of the 

 work has been performed by Messrs. Page and Rigby. 



The only change as regards the Meteorological Instruments has been 

 the repair of the shafts which connected the Anemograph on the Dome 

 with the registering apparatus. About the middle of June it was dis- 

 covered that the old tubular shafts were split, and they were therefore 

 replaced by new ones. 



PJiotoheliograj)h. — This instrument was regularly worked, as in former 

 years, up to the end of February 1872, at which epoch the period expired 

 which was originally fixed by Mr. De La Rue for the continuance of the 

 observations at the expense of the Royal Society Grovernment-Grant 

 Fund. The observations were afterwards carried on up to the end of 

 March, with the object of fully including ten years. The measurements 

 and reductions of the sun-pictures have been continued at the expense 

 of Mr. De La Rue, and will be completed during the ensuing year. 

 A scale of equal parts, 15 feet in length, has, with the sanction of Her 

 Majesty's Office of Works, been erected temporarily on the Pagoda at 



